interesting article in today's gulf news.
maybe our managers don't read, or they're above such low intellectual occupation, knowing very much better....
"The problem with "Our people are our most valuble resource" is the use of the word "resource". Resources are things we draw upon and exploit. They are raw materials we use as efficiently as possible, extracting value and preventing wastage. But people are not raw materials. They cannot be described as an organisation's most valuable resource, because they are the organisation. Honda did not treat its design team as a resource from which new models of cars were to be extracted. Rather, Honda put its team at the centre of the organisation and gave them the resources they needed to get the job done. This maxim needs to go into r'etirement. Its credibility has been undermined by generations of inept human resource managers;
and the view of employees as a resource has always been problematic. It is time to start thinking of the people as the business. It is employees who determine whether a company stands or falls, and they need to be motivated and rewarded accordingly. This is one area where actions will speak louder than words.
- Financial Times "